David Freese contract: Free agency will be an awkward fit for the St. Louis Cardinals' postseason hero

Viva El Birdos | Feb 10

David Freese will be 30 in 2013, and a free agent in 2016. That's the most important part of the news that the St. Louis Cardinals signed him to a one-year deal worth $3 million on Friday, and it's the most important fact of his major league career: David Freese started late, and he's going to pay for it.

For Freese, who celebrates his first year significantly over the league minimum two seasons after his World Series heroics, it's a combination of a late start—he played his first minor league season at 23—and the injury problems that delayed his big league arrival. The result is a trip through free agency that's going to come after most position players have begun their decline phase, which could make for some awkward negotiations.